Search found 865 matches

by Mike Vogel
Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:02 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Twitter Spelling Test.
Replies: 17
Views: 5937

Re: Twitter Spelling Test.

95%, so I must have got one "wrong". Probably "misspell" / "mis-spell", which are in fact both correct. As a linguist I consider myself a lot better informed than the microsoft spellcheck and grammar check: in the latter especially they are so ignorant that they do not ...
by Mike Vogel
Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:55 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Will ye no come back again?
Replies: 44
Views: 13513

Re: Will ye no come back again?

Sorry Alan. Too busy with school governance and recovering from my chemotherapy [which has for reasons too boring to mention caused me to have very little energy for about a month or so]. It did not work as well as was hoped and I am now on a new wonder drug whose effects have not yet been assessed,...
by Mike Vogel
Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:52 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: 1102 no kcab gnikooL
Replies: 10
Views: 3838

Re: 1102 no kcab gnikooL

Early spuds very small - weather too dry. Late spuds wonderful, really big and numerous. We had rain at the time they were in flower. Squashes absolutely pathetic; we got one pumpkin from 3 plants and a few courgettes. Tomatoes did well - I maunred the beds well the previous autumn. Carrots were pat...
by Mike Vogel
Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:39 pm
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: Crop Rotation
Replies: 31
Views: 14407

Re: Crop Rotation

Hi Stephen, sorry I haven't replied till now - I haven't been accessing the site. Green manure is ideally dug in before it flowers. What this means in practice is that on a fallow strip you will dig it in in the summer and probably then sow another crop of green manure, which you might need to dig i...
by Mike Vogel
Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:04 pm
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: Crop Rotation
Replies: 31
Views: 14407

Re: Crop Rotation

Stephen, I would recommend sowing unused ground with a green manure, such as winter tares [especially where you intend to plant brassicas next spring] or Phacelia tanacetifolia, which grows luxuriently and will provide quire a lot of bulk. These will also help the soil "digest" the manure ...
by Mike Vogel
Thu Aug 04, 2011 7:50 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Wasted day very very fed up.
Replies: 15
Views: 5895

Re: Wasted day very very fed up.

Go on, Catherine, sock it to them. Tell them how outrageously inconvenienced you were and invoice them for your time. You might get humble pie and a freebie.
by Mike Vogel
Thu Aug 04, 2011 7:44 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Is Vegetarianism cruel?
Replies: 36
Views: 10994

Re: Is Vegetarianism cruel?

Quote: All life is one. We share the same DNA code with the lowliest animals and plants and many of the same genes. Indeed, we could swop 50% of our genes with a banana and we would still be human and the banana would still be a banana – always assuming that we got the right 50%. Isn't this as much ...
by Mike Vogel
Thu Jul 28, 2011 11:36 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Summer bits and bobs
Replies: 168
Views: 34060

Re: Summer bits and bobs

Back to page 1, if the first day of summer is June 21, why is it called MID-summer's Day? I have always found an easy rule of thumb, which has worked throughout this period of climate change: Winter is Dec, Jan and Feb, Spring is March April and May, Summer, June July, Aug, and autumn is Sept, Oct a...
by Mike Vogel
Thu Jul 28, 2011 11:21 pm
Forum: Seasonal tips
Topic: Cucumber aborting question.
Replies: 9
Views: 6187

Re: Cucumber aborting question.

I looked up "Bitter Cucumbers" on google and found a number of sites. The 2 questions may be related. The problem may be that the weather has NOT been all that hot, because cool conditions and/or erratic watering are suggested as reasons for getting bitter fruit - I wonder whether they may...
by Mike Vogel
Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:25 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Big Butterfly Count
Replies: 29
Views: 7079

Re: Big Butterfly Count

The onein the sea will be the Red Admiral, of course.
by Mike Vogel
Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:06 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Chemo Time
Replies: 25
Views: 7520

Re: Chemo Time

Well, today I felt I ought to water some of the allotment, but then I thought I wouldn't bother, so I didn't. Feeling able to do that without worrying about the brassicas is just as enabling as getting there every day and feeling energised. This is my nadir week, so I'm entitled.
by Mike Vogel
Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:00 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Potato genome decoded
Replies: 6
Views: 3120

Re: Potato genome decoded

We make chips by slicingn the spuds, dipping in olive oil and baking them.
by Mike Vogel
Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:58 pm
Forum: General chatter
Topic: Rare he-she butterfly
Replies: 1
Views: 1682

Re: Rare he-she butterfly

How extraordinary!
by Mike Vogel
Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:56 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Our Garlic crop in 2011
Replies: 16
Views: 5733

Re: Our Garlic crop in 2011

My elephant garlic was the only variety that did reasonably well this year. Garlic hates dry springs followed by wet - promotes rot. But yours look better than mine, Colin.
by Mike Vogel
Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:54 pm
Forum: Best practices
Topic: Garlic Query
Replies: 4
Views: 3001

Re: Garlic Query

I've read [from the Garlic Farm?] that it is better to be too early harvesting than too late. I also suggest that the maxim of shortest and longest days applies to later rather than earlier varieties.